Selfridges refused to let me return £263 designer jacket because it had my HAIR on it: CRANE ON THE CASE
I received a Selfridges voucher for Christmas and ordered an AllSaints jacket for £263 on its website and collected it from the London store.
Sadly it didn’t suit me, so I returned it within the one-month window by posting it back.
I then received an email saying my return had been rejected due to ‘damaged buttons’ and having ‘hair all over’.
I only tried the coat on once at home and am certain I didn’t damage it.
I obviously can’t rule out a stray hair finding its way on to the coat, but the accusation that it had ‘hair all over’ is totally false. I treated the coat no differently than if I had tried it on in the shop.
Selfridges won’t provide photos of the coat to prove it and just repeatedly refers me back to the terms and conditions. L.C, London
Trying it on: Selfridges refused a refund on a coat, despite the customer insisting they had sent it back in the same condition as they received it (file image)
Helen Crane, This is Money’s consumer champion, replies: This is the second time in a week that a reader has contacted me to say they have been refused a refund on a designer purchase has been because of pesky stray hairs.
A coincidence? Probably, but it does show how brutal the battle between retailers and customers is becoming over the thorny issue of returns.
Excessive returns are a hugely expensive headache for retailers for two reasons. First, some people wear things and send them back.
This is known as ‘wardrobing,’ and 16 per cent of shoppers admit to doing it according to a 2024 study by Retail Economics.
That has always happened, but super-fast online delivery and free returns have made it much easier.
Posting something off to a warehouse is much less nerve-wracking than fronting up to a shop assistant, worn dress in hand.
Second, some people use online delivery as a fitting room – buying loads of items, including the same outfit in multiple sizes, trying them all on and returning the vast majority.
Retail Economics found that, in 2024, a huge one in five non-food items bought online was sent back, costing retailers £27billion.
The reality is many returned items won’t ever make it back onto the shelves or into the hands of another customer.
Shops are therefore employing ever-harsher tactics to crack down on those who abuse the system.
Online giant Asos, for example, has angered some customers by introducing a ‘fair use’ policy which tracks the percentage of items a shopper returns over a year.
It deducts up to £7.90 in fees per returned order for those who ‘consistently take actions that make providing them with free returns unsustainable.’
It’s understandable that retailers are on high alert – especially ones like Selfridges who sell expensive, luxury goods.
High-end: Selfridges (Oxford Street, London store pictured) is likely to be a tempting target for those looking to cheat the system by wearing an item once and then returning it
It must be an extremely tempting target for the wear-once-and-return mob, who want a nice outfit for a big event – but don’t fancy paying for the privilege.
That doesn’t mean they can tar honest shoppers like yourself with the same brush, though.
If you simply don’t like the look of something, and return it unworn within the specified time, you are perfectly within your rights to get your money back.
Yes, the coat you sent back might have had a couple of stray hairs on it – but using that as a reason not to refund you is overzealous.
Would Selfridges force someone to buy the coat if they had left a hair on it while trying it on in-store? Not likely.
You told me: ‘I completely respect that companies have the right to reject returns for damaged items and that there are a very small group of people who try to play the system and defraud companies by wearing and resending items. However, this isn’t me.
‘I have never once in my 12-plus years of ordering online had a return rejected because it was damaged.’
You also told me you have no idea what the comment about the buttons being ‘damaged’ referred to, and say you didn’t even do them up when you tried it on.
If there was any ‘damage’ Selfridges should have sent you photo evidence to justify withholding your money, which it declined to do.
You also asked to escalate the complaint, but were ignored. I suspect whoever you spoke to realised the company’s original decision had been wrong-headed.
I’ve noticed some reviews online where people have similar complaints.
One, posted just days ago, reads: ‘I purchased a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes for work online costing over £400. They did not fit.
‘I tried them on briefly in my own home, on my wooden floors, to check size and comfort – exactly as any customer would reasonably do. They were never worn outside.
‘Despite this, my return has been refused on the basis that the soles were allegedly “dirty and worn”‘.
Another told how she ordered three potential wedding dresses in different sizes from Selfridges.
After trying on the largest and finding it too small, she says she packaged up all three and sent them straight back – only to be declined a refund on the two that she never even took out of the wrapping because they were ‘stained and dirtied’.
She said she was eventually refunded after calling customer services five times.
I contacted Selfridges on your behalf, and am pleased to say it investigated again and quickly overturned its decision. Within 24 hours, the £263 had been re-loaded on to your voucher.
A spokeswoman for Selfridges said: ‘This case was fully investigated and has since been resolved. The customer has been issued a full refund.’
I’d recommend anyone who shops online takes a snap of items before they return them, so they can fight allegations like these.
Have you had a refund denied unfairly? Email [email protected]
